Cliff Lee thumps the Rays out of the arena (Pt. 1)
In respect to Cliff Lee, there is not much one can say about the player, except for the fact that he is one of the best pitchers in the United States of America. To be honest, there isn’t any comparison to the maestro in Major League Baseball. You can bring on Carsten Charles Sabathia and David Price to the mound, but this ball thrower adds a different flavour to the game. Prior to the post season, Lee had a hard time in the 2010 season but as the last matches approached, the competitor achieved a high mark on his form and turned in some satisfactory results to make his way back on the selection sheet for the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers were up against the American League East title winners, Tampa Bay Rays. With Day 1 featuring Price and Lee on the mound for both teams, there was much to anticipate. Fans were highly motivated to see their favourite teams battle it out on the field in front of a crowd in the Tropicana Fields. Many didn’t back up the Texas pitcher and the reason had to be his weak form in the league. However, that was all forgotten when the visiting West champions smashed the hosts’ morale with a satisfactory win.
The second game did not feature Cliff on the mound but the first game had done enough to put the West title holder on top position in the chase for the award. It wasn’t till the 3rd game that the Rangers started losing any game and with the conclusion of the fourth one, the win score in the series had gone up to 2 – 2. Tampa Bay had fought hard to make it to the 5th game and with Ron Washington’s men trailing hard in the form, it was important for the side to get through for their first ever playoffs victory.
Texas was stuck on a 2 wins line since the second game. It was a resurgent Ray’s side that went up against the team in the next two games to make it to a fighting chance at the World Series. Evan Longoria and Carlos Pena were the true instruments to prevail for the side in the game.
Pena was the orchestrator for the first win as his runs, batted in shots, got the desired result in the 3rd game and a struggling chance to clinch the series. Longoria, who has been struggling with an injury, was the next to perform as his 1 home run and 2 doubles in the 4th game got Tampa Bay to Day 5 in the series. Fortunately, the return fixture for Lee and Price came up on the cards and on Tuesday Manager Joe Maddon was upbeat about the return fixture in Tropicana Field, emphasizing on the home advantage.
However, that thought was not comforting for the fans as all games went in the favour for the visiting team. It was highly possible for the same streak to continue on to the 5th game as both sides met on Tuesday afternoon to engage in a last bout of the series.
David Price returned from his last game and with the expectation of winning it for the team, there was still the figures from the last game to consider. He pitched for 6.2 innings, striking out 8 players in the process. For the maestro, that was a good figure but considering the fact that he was hit 9 times and he conceded 5 runs in the game, it put the spectators in a dubious position to see the ball thrower excel against the experienced Lee.
Cliff on the other hand, had his own magic stemming in the game. He pitched 7 innings and struck out 10 batters. On top of that, he allowed just 1 run off 5 hits. For the maestro, that was a normal game in the playoffs.
The question on Tuesday was, ‘Can the Rays’ Price beat Lee’s offering?’
Tags: